<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><font size="4" class=""><br class="">This Torah portion sets forth the blessings that are seen in this world in response to our deeds. <br class="">It then continues with the Tochacha, words of admonition, "If you will not listen to Me and will not perform all of these commandments…" <br class="">Interestingly, there are seven series of seven punishments each. God warns us throughout the portion that He will punish us in "seven ways for your seven sins. <br class="">We are now counting seven days a week for seven weeks; the Torah has just recently given the laws for Shemita — seventh year the land lies fallow and seven periods of seven years, we celebrate the Jubilee year.<br class=""> <br class="">What is so special about the number seven? Kabbalah teaches that seven represents the physical world -- 7 days of the week, 7 notes to the diatonic scale, seven continents, etc. <br class="">We wind the T'fillin straps around our forearm seven times. We sit shiva for seven days. At the wedding we chant 7 blessings (sheva b'rachos) and the wedding is followed by seven days of celebration. <br class="">Even the Torah begins with seven -- the First verse has seven words also containing a total of twenty-eight letters which is seven times four. <br class=""> <br class="">Kabbalah also teaches that seven represents wholeness and completion. When we say "Baruch Hashem" we are praising God for something that is hopefully whole and complete. <br class="">The acronym for Baruch Hashem (Beis, Hay) also equals 7.<br class="">Finally, the patriarchs and matriarchs total seven: Avraham, Yitzchok, Ya’akov, Sarah, Rivka, Rochel, Leah.<br class=""><br class="">(Please don’t write me to say your phone number has seven digits or the rainbow has 7 colors or that there are seven letters in the Roman numeral system or that nitrogen has the atomic number of 7 or that there were<br class="">7 dwarfs with Snow White). :-)</font></body></html>